wavy_davy

Sorry to ask such a boring question but we are having difficulty finding any example costs on the web and want to try to avoid phoning different companies only to be told they can't quote over the phone!!

We would like to know the estimate cost of installing a gas boosted solar hot water and double glazing in the house.

We are building a 4x2 in Perth and we are a family of 3. I know it is difficult to give an exact quote because it depends on the size of the house and water usage etc but any estimates would be gratefully received!

Karma for those who reply with $$ figures!

Thanks!

cresta57

Our system is off peak electric boosted solar and came in at under 3k fully installed. The gas version was not much dearer but to heavy on gas for us to make it viable as we have only bottled gas here.
Double glazing? Have they even heard of it here?

ozzieeagle

I think it takes about 15 years to get your money back, on a typical average usage v Gas, Trouble with that equation is the units need replacing then.

Here is the URL for the biggest Retailer/installer, in Melbourne.

http://www.solahart.com.au/


Double glazing, I've never heard of anyone having it installed. So because of its scarcity it would have to be damn expensive.

Hutch

http://www.windowline.com.au/vantage.shtml

wavy_davy

Ta Hutch, only problem is they're not in WA! But thanks nayways bloke

JackTheLad

Double-glazing is about double the cost of 6.3mm energy efficient glass windows. The standard is 3 or 4mm. Will send you an PM with more details.

Mrs JTL

Wol

We're getting a quote for double glazing as I speak. I am braced for the worst.........

Anything halfway decent is looked upon as exotic! The insulation standards are truly medieval - looked at a prospective rental yesterday - just finished, new house - and just bare copper pipework to the (outside) water heater.We are absolutely frozen in our present rental - the "heating" runs all day and just manages to get up to a single-sweater temperature.

The rental agency lady was late - her house was without water since the pipes were frozen this morning! But "no need for insulation, they unblock by lunchtime".....

lesleys

Before spending money on windows do check here

http://www.wers.net/

and

www.pilkington.com.au

Like Mrs JTL said, there are more options.

wavy_davy

Thanks everyone for your comments and quotes! We are tossing up the idea of not having reverse cycle aircon and instead making our house a bit more energy efficient. I found a really good website today which makes a few comparisons - http://www1.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au/ - it is for WA but the principles would be transverable to every state.

I'll definitely be looking into energy efficient glass - I didn't know about that!

The vantage windows look lovely - I really like the folding patio doors! Doesn't look as though they have a WA office though. I might give them a ring to see.

I wasn't expecting the solar power to be as high as $3k! Even with the rebate that's quite a lot of money. Looks like it makes good savings each year though (http://www1.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au/pages/runsolhw.asp). Cresta are you making considerable savings each month/year?

Thanks everyone! Gives us a bit more food for thought. Kayt x

cresta57

We've only lived here for 6 months but since the solar problems were sorted out the electric hasn't even cut in so all the hot water is free. As it's tank water and falls out of the sky[sometimes] that's free also so no water bills and no cost to heat the water= considerable savings

flumper

Hi,
Have you considered a heat pump (www.rheem.com.au)
Very efficient approx. 65% cheaper to run than conventional hot water system.
New model available from next month approx $2500 after rebate.
It works along the lines of an air con unit in reverse mounted on top of a Hot water system.
Hope this is helpful.
Martin

ozzieeagle

Actually I think thats the same product as the Synergy system by Solarhart. This thread was the catylist for me learning of it's existence. Sounds damn interesting to me, and I'll be checking it right out next time my hot water tank goes. (they tend to go every 15 years here, so my 2nd will be coming up).

BTW wavy, we have reverse cycle air con, plus a gas wall furnace heater and gas water heating at present, plus a solid fuel wood heater, out in this back room. I'm trying to work out a way of distributing the heat out here to the rest of the house, without going to a lot of expense.

JackTheLad

I was going to PM Wavy_Davy (thanks for the karma - enough incentive to post this ) the following but thought perhaps a few others may find this useful too.

We've recently got double-glazed windows and sliding doors installed by Stegbar. There are a handful of companies that make double-glazed glass windows but most don't do installation. We were orginally going to order our glass from GJames (Brisbane based) but had to find installers ourselves. So we had a few glazers come to our house to do measurement but NOT ONE came back to us with a quote. It was very frustrating. Then we phoned up Stegbar and got everything coordinated through them. They do have officers nationwide. There's plenty of information on different types of glass on their website as well as on the WERS site.

For subtropical and tropical climate, the single-glazed 6.3mm thick glass is normally good enough to keep the house cooler in the summer. Double-glazed unit, although also keeps the house cool in the summer, is much more effective in cooler weather to keep the house warm in the winter. As JTL and I are wusses, we wanted something to keep us warm in the winter however short it is in sunny Brisbane. The calculation we've done in our head says the difference in price will be paid off in about 30 years. Well, we do want to stay in this house for 30 years and if we have to leave earlier we might make back the difference in the sale price.

We experience the real difference between single-glazed and double-glazed recently. Since Stegbar hadn't got all the windows made in double-glazed, they left a few windows single-glazed (6mm). When I put my hands on the two types of windows, there was a significant difference - one hand froze and the other didn't.

Hope this helps.

Mrs JTL